The result? A unique experience that allows guests to stay in a slice of Amsterdam history. The oldest bridge house suite, Amstelschutsluis, dates from 1673.

"That is really old," says Oxenaar. "That's the only one where you can only come by boat."

Back in the day, of course, everyone approached the bridge houses by boat. The city's bridge-keepers were based there and it was their job to open and close the bridges, ferrying people in and out of the city.

The interior of the Bridge Houses are stylish and luxurious.

Courtesy Mirjam Bleeker

"In the old times people would enter the city and they would have to pay at the bridge house there, but also the bridge watcher would open and close the lock for them," explains Oxenaar.

Amsterdam has a phenomenal 1.281 bridges, scattered across the city. Staying in a bridge house allows tourists to see a different side to the city, away from the conventional haunts.

"It's amazing because they're all over the city, in any neighborhood you could think of: east, west, north, south," explains Oxenaar. "It's not only the house, but it's also putting the tourist up in other neighborhoods than where they would usually go."

The story of Amsterdam

Theophile de Bockbrug is a bridge house is situated on a giant drawbridge near the city's Vondelpark.

Courtesy Mirjam Bleeker

Ranging in architectural styles and dating from different periods, each bridge house has a different flavor: from a three-story bridge in north Amsterdam to a 1950s house in Jordaan, in the late "Amsterdam School" style.

"These houses are from such different architectural periods," says Oxenaar. "[They] tell the story of how Amsterdam was actually built."

Of course this variation in style means renovating each property was its own challenge.

"What is the architecture giving us? How can we continue with that? How can we take the value out of the architecture that's already existing?"

Each time they get hold of a new property, the team decamp to the building to work out how they're going to make the bridge house livable and luxurious.

"We call it design picnics," says Oxenaar.

The result is each bridge house is different. "They all have a totally different character, both outside and now also inside. Not one is the same at all," says Oxenaar.

At Beltbrug, you can wake up with a view of a 16th-century windmill.

Courtesy Mirjam Bleeker

There are some recurring obstacles -- fitting in a bathroom is always tricky. There's no kitchen, but there's a mini fridge, coffee and tea facilities and crockery.

The idea is it's a hotel -- the rooms are just spread across the city.

So how do you choose which room to stay in?

"Sometimes people from Amsterdam like to choose one in a neighborhood where they grew up," says Oxenaar. "Or people somehow like the period of the house, or they like the view, or they like the inside."

Some bridge houses are quieter. Others thrust guests into the middle of vibrant Amsterdam. There's something for everyone.